Who are gay rappers
Merced's youth voice
Image: Under The Gun
by Adrian Saenz
Homosexuality in hip-hop has long been taboo. Why aren’t there any mainstream lgbtq+ rappers? Is mainstream hip-hop based on your sexuality and not your skill?
Hip-hop is typically seen as uber-masculine. It’s a male controlled industry with petty room for femininity. There seems to be only room for the linear guy that’s down. But shouldn’t a musical genre and culture reflect the diversity of its audience?
Earlier this year, when Larry King asked popular rapper Wale if he thought a homosexual rapper would be accepted, the Maybach Music rapper responded positively, saying that “2015 is another world compared to 1995.” He also went on to say that it used to be taboo to be gay in hip-hop and now it’s taboo to say badly against gays.
There are many others that support Wale’s inclusive views. Nicki Minaj, one of biggest rappers out now, male or female, has always had a huge LGBT following. In 2011, a paparazzi videographer asked Minaj what she consideration it would accept for a LGBT hip-hop artist to go big. Her response? “I am a gay rapper, you got one.” While her com
Here Are Rappers Who Embrace Being Lgbtq+, Lesbian or Bisexual
It's no secret that there's been a longstanding stigma when it comes to homosexuality in hip-hop. Some artists possess even had their rap careers tarnished by rumors that they were connected to someone of the alike sex. As a fresh generation of hip-hop consumers emerge and artists are living in their correctness when it comes to their sexuality, the culture is proving to be more open-minded than ever before.
One of the biggest examples of hip-hop's expansion when it comes to LGBTQ+ acceptance is Lil Nas X. The Georgia-bred artist had the biggest song on the planet when he came out on the last day of Event month in June of 2019. Since then, the "Old Town Road" rhymer has continued to wave the flag for rappers in the queer community, helping push the movement further into the mainstream.
Young M.A has been forthright about her sexual orientation from the skip , speaking freely about her sexual preferences often in her music. She's even embraced it on a new level, having come out with a line of sex toys called Play NYCe in 2020.
Yung Miami of the City Girls confirmed her double attraction
Today, the International Day against LGBTphobia acts as a reminder of the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTQIA people around the world.
To mark IDAHOT 2022, Madame Rap would like to remind you that hip hop can also be a pretty place for LGBTQIA artists to express themselves, create and thrive. Check out our video of 35 male rappers who spot as gay and bisexual!
With:
- Todrick Hall (Texas/Los Angeles, USA)
- Kevin Abstract (Los Angeles, USA)
- iLoveMakonnen (Los Angeles, USA)
- Deadlee (Los Angeles, USA)
- Jipsta (New York, USA)
- Le1f (New York, USA)
- Cakes da Killa (New York, USA)
- Zebra Katz (New York, USA /Berlin Germany)
- Big Freedia (New Orleans, USA)
- Chris Conde (San Antonio, USA)
- BabiBoi (Austin, USA)
- Fly Young Red (Houston, USA)
- Big Dipper (Chicago, USA)
- Taylor Bennett (Chicago, USA)
- Lil Nas X (Georgia, USA)
- Slutashia (Oregon, USA)
- Y-Love (Baltimore, USA)
- Big Momma (Florida, USA)
- Cazwell (Worchester, USA)
- Mista Strange (London, UK)
- Qboy (London, UK)
- Karnage Kills (London, UK)
- James Indigo (London, UK)
- Kevin Fret (†) (Puerto Rico)
- Guigo (Brazil)
- Murillo Zyess (Brazil)
- Umlilo (Johannesburg, South Africa)
- Keabruh&Ja
Lil Nas X, Saucy Santana, Ice Spice: LGBTQ rappers are queering hip-hop prefer never before
LGBTQ hip-hop is here and proudly gender non-conforming — and it’s been here all along.
Gender-bending provocateur Lil Nas X struck gold with his Top 10 pop hit “Star Walkin’” this spring when the song sold a half-million copies, marking his 10th single certified by the Recording Industry Association of America at the time. Viral emcee Saucy Santana, who received a cosign from gay diva Madonna when they teamed up for a Pride Month performance, got a nod for a MTV Video Music Award for a performance of his Billboard Rap Airplay hit “Booty.”
And rap princess Ice Spice is melting down heteronormativity with her red-hot accomplishment. The rapper gave a breezy shoutout to her queer sexuality on the song “Bikini Bottom,” taken from her Top 5 rap EP “Like..?”
While these rappers have ushered in an “unprecedented visibility of LGBTQ hip-hop” with their queer-friendly lyrics and aesthetics, they join a storied lineage of queer pioneers – including Age of Approval, Medusa and Deep D--kollective – who have been pushing the envelope in hip-hop since its inception 50 years ago.
“It’s an exciting moment,” says Lau